One of the greatest passages of scripture that believers should confess daily and be encouraged, and strengthened by, was spoken by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul. He says, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live,
but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20) Paul
was not only pressing home the point of what he was in Christ, but also
driving home the point of what all believers also are in Christ and what Christ is in them. Paul
contends that his faith in Christ and the grace of God at work in him, had freed him from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2) and now his identity is Christ in him, not his former identity of himself.
He goes on and says, "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:21) The phrase "set aside" is to frustrate, despise, displace, abrogate, God working in and through the believer giving them the ability and desire to obey Him and do His will. The phrase "the grace of God," here refers to the favor of God manifested in the plan of salvation by the gospel. The sense is, that Paul would not take any measures or pursue any course of life as a believer that would render the grace of God as something vain, useless. He goes on to say, if righteousness (justification) can be secured by the observance of any law, whether ceremonial or moral, then there was no need of the death of Christ as an atonement. If man can live by the law, and be declared righteous by the law, there would be no need of a Savior, because man would be able to save himself solely based on his own merit.
It is for this reason that Paul rebukes the Jewish believers in the church at Galatians. "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 3:1-5)
The purpose for the rebuke was not to bring condemnation upon them, but to reveal the reality that they were indeed frustrating, despising, displacing, abrogating Gods grace for their so called rules of life, laws, especially when their faith in Christ was evidenced by the Holy Spirit working miracles. In the same way, believers today must use caution when they base their Christianity on laws and rules, which are actually parts of the Mosaic law or the man made laws that have infiltrated many sectors of the church, rather than living in the grace that God has poured out in Christ. (John 1:17) In doing so they may find themselves frustrating, despising, displacing, abrogating, Gods grace.
However, the good news for all believers to be free from laws and live in the grace of God is to recognize the truth that Paul had presented, "Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." There it is! If you are born again, you are a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Christ lives in you. What great news this should be to all believers. Living by grace through faith is freedom! Living by laws as the Jewish believers in Galatia were doing and were teaching the Gentile converts to do the same , is bondage. As Paul had exposed this error to the believers in the church at Galatia, I also believe that the Holy Spirit is revealing the same to many of God's children today. Our faith in Christ should not be evidenced by laws that we live by, but our faith in Christ, living in the grace of God, which is evidenced by the Holy Spirit and the working miracles. PTL...
He goes on and says, "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." (Galatians 2:21) The phrase "set aside" is to frustrate, despise, displace, abrogate, God working in and through the believer giving them the ability and desire to obey Him and do His will. The phrase "the grace of God," here refers to the favor of God manifested in the plan of salvation by the gospel. The sense is, that Paul would not take any measures or pursue any course of life as a believer that would render the grace of God as something vain, useless. He goes on to say, if righteousness (justification) can be secured by the observance of any law, whether ceremonial or moral, then there was no need of the death of Christ as an atonement. If man can live by the law, and be declared righteous by the law, there would be no need of a Savior, because man would be able to save himself solely based on his own merit.
It is for this reason that Paul rebukes the Jewish believers in the church at Galatians. "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Galatians 3:1-5)
The purpose for the rebuke was not to bring condemnation upon them, but to reveal the reality that they were indeed frustrating, despising, displacing, abrogating Gods grace for their so called rules of life, laws, especially when their faith in Christ was evidenced by the Holy Spirit working miracles. In the same way, believers today must use caution when they base their Christianity on laws and rules, which are actually parts of the Mosaic law or the man made laws that have infiltrated many sectors of the church, rather than living in the grace that God has poured out in Christ. (John 1:17) In doing so they may find themselves frustrating, despising, displacing, abrogating, Gods grace.
However, the good news for all believers to be free from laws and live in the grace of God is to recognize the truth that Paul had presented, "Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." There it is! If you are born again, you are a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17) Christ lives in you. What great news this should be to all believers. Living by grace through faith is freedom! Living by laws as the Jewish believers in Galatia were doing and were teaching the Gentile converts to do the same , is bondage. As Paul had exposed this error to the believers in the church at Galatia, I also believe that the Holy Spirit is revealing the same to many of God's children today. Our faith in Christ should not be evidenced by laws that we live by, but our faith in Christ, living in the grace of God, which is evidenced by the Holy Spirit and the working miracles. PTL...
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